Abstract
High temperature is the primary challenge in the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in an arid climate. A rise in temperature diminishes the performance of the PV systems and shortens their lifespan. The goal of this manuscript is to develop an analytical model to predict the temperature of PV panels under a passive cooling system for an arid environment. Taking into consideration the link between solar panel temperature and its conversion efficiency, Kirchhoff’s and Ohm’s laws for a complex circuit were applied to calculate the heat flux in the solar panel system, and hence obtain the temperatures of each layer in the system. Closed-form analytical expressions for temperature, output power, and conversion efficiency of the solar panel were deduced and presented as functions of solar irradiance, ambient temperature, emissivity, wind velocity, tilt angle, and dimensions of fins. Comparison between the results presented in the literature and those predicted by the developed analytical model validated the presented model. Moreover, the length of the fins required for safe thermal operation of solar panels in harsh desert environment were also obtained from analysis. Furthermore, the effect of using such a cooling system on the temperature and efficiency of the solar panels was verified by using the developed model under real conditions in Dammam city during summer and winter seasons. The results showed that the optimized heat sink could raise the solar panel power by 8.7% during summer and by 6.5% during winter.
Highlights
Solar energy is considered a clean, sustainable, and free source of energy
The efficiency and the lifespan of photovoltaic systems depend on environmental factors, installation methods, materials, and operating point of the PV module) [3]
The model was used for investigating the impact of parameters such as length and thickness of fins, wind velocity, tilt angle, ambient temperature, and emissivity of heat sink surface on the solar panel temperature
Summary
Solar energy is considered a clean, sustainable, and free source of energy. It is an efficient and promising solution to combat the growing demand of global energy consumption and the fast increase of greenhouse gas emissions. The efficiency and the lifespan of photovoltaic systems depend on environmental factors (such as solar irradiance, humidity, wind velocity, rainfall, ambient temperature, and dust), installation methods (tilt angle, orientation, and positioning), materials, and operating point of the PV module) [3]. Among these factors, the most crucial one is the PV module temperature, and its impact becomes worse in arid and desert climates [4]. The decline of PV module efficiency by high temperature is due to the accumulation of heat that leads to increase the operating temperature and fall of the electrical efficiency of the solar panel. An increase of PV cell temperature by 1 ◦ C
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